


The Doing of Activities

by Bopdawoo



Series: Tales from Bionis [1]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Autistic Shulk, F/M, Gen, Shulk Is Trying His Best, cuties being cute, shulkXmelia is just really cute okay, this is so fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24592951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bopdawoo/pseuds/Bopdawoo
Summary: Navigating everyday interactions can be difficult, sometimes. Shulk tries his hardest, and Melia patiently encourages.
Relationships: Melia Ancient | Melia Antiqua/Shulk
Series: Tales from Bionis [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777723
Comments: 8
Kudos: 71





	The Doing of Activities

**Author's Note:**

> Characters: Melia, Shulk  
> Rating: K  
> Genre: friendship  
> Wordcount: ~1,900

As Melia is leaving the palace, one of the guards in the entry hall hails her over. He explains to her, “I received this parcel with instructions to deliver it to you, your Highness,” he explains, and produces a small satchel of satin, drawn tight with a little ribbon.

Melia takes it, unable to feel the satin through her thin gloves, nor what rests inside. “Who is this from?” she inquires.

“The wielder of the Monado, your Highness.”

Her heart does a little leap in her chest. A gift? From Shulk? She bites down the bubble of excitement that threatens to raise her voice to an informal volume and says, “I thank you for delivering this to me.” It does take quite an effort not to skip the remainder of the way out of the palace, the satchel and its contents bouncing in her hands. Once outside Melia situates herself on the edge of one of the gardens, and opens the satchel to find…

Well, she would be lying if she claimed not to be a touch disappointed.

“Oh, Shulk,” she mutters, and pulls out a small blue chain.

She’s well aware that social interactions can be genuinely difficult for him. She was much the same, a long time ago, however being a princess afforded her the opportunity (or perhaps necessity) of receiving instruction from special tutors, who were there specifically to help her navigate her social world. She doubts a humble researcher would even have access to such things, especially not one from a colony as small as Colony 9.

Speaking of his research, she’s fairly certain these little chains are of importance to him; she once heard him gushing about how useful they are in repairing small devices, and then lamenting how difficult they are to find. Melia examines the little blue chain links and she can see that,  _ clearly _ , no small amount of time has gone into shaping, polishing each individual metal link. Compare this with the countless times she’s seen couples around Alcamoth exchange gifts that had clearly been bought only five minutes prior or, worse, no gift _ at all _ . And who could forget the fights, the drama, when the giftee takes offense to those thoughtless actions; how could their partner possibly do this to them? Picking up a cheap bouquet from the flower vendor just around the corner? Is that  _ really _ what you think of our love!?

And yet. As Melia looks over the useless gift again, she smiles softly. This is not just some cheap, last-minute gift. It’s incredibly heartfelt in his own unique, awkward way. He may have arrived at the entirely wrong conclusion on what to gift her, but  _ clearly _ he is trying. That’s more than enough for her.

Though, if these little chains really are so important to his work, it would be a waste for her to be in possession of one so long and not even have a use for it. As Melia gently tucks the chain back into its satchel, she hopes he’ll not be too crushed when she returns it.

It doesn’t take long at all to find Shulk; he’s sitting on the rim of one of the fountains, running his fingers through the water contemplatively. He doesn’t notice her at first, but as she draws nearer his head bobs up.

“Melia! I- uh.”

“Do you mind if I sit down?” she asks.

“Um, sure- I mean, no. no, I don’t mind. You can sit.” His cheeks flush a little, and he fidgets as Melia sits primly on the stone fountain rim. “Sorry,” he blurts out, and scratches the back of his head.

“Whatever for?”

“The gift,” he sighs, and gestures to the little satchel she has in her lap. “Machines aren’t really your thing, are they?”

“Not really,” Melia admits, and pulls out the blue chain, watching the metal links shine. “I’ve not got much use for this, but I appreciate it anyways.”

“I- you do?” Shulk’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

“Of course. Gifts are always nice, and I can tell how much effort you put into shining this up.”

He looks pleased, at least for a moment, and then his smile fades again. “But it’s not the right gift for you.”

“No, it’s not,” she agrees. “I’m not upset, I know how difficult it can be finding just the right gift.”

Shulk smiles a little ruefully and says, “Can’t be good at everything, I guess.”

“Very true.” She fidgets with the chain a bit, and then holds it out to him. “I’m aware of how important these are in your repair work, and it would not sit well with me to hold onto this one without any use for it. So, please, I would like you to take this one back, and use it for yourself.”

She looks for any sign of hurt in his eyes, but after a moment he gives her a lopsided little smile and says, “Thanks for being so honest,” before taking the chain and tucking it into one of his jacket pockets. “I just… I realized that was the wrong gift for you after I left it for you. I want to get you something better, I just don’t know what,” he sighs. “I feel like I never know."

“Well, I am right here,” Melia points out. “You could just ask.”

“Isn’t that cheating?”

Melia laughs. “I won’t tell.”

Shulk fidgets a little. “I don’t want to just  _ ask _ , though. That feels… too easy, I guess. Maybe, we could… do an activity?”

She feels a laugh bubble out of her. “‘Do an  _ activity’ _ ?” she giggles. “What sort?”

He grins, lopsided. “I mean, something  _ you’re _ interested in. So I can get ideas for a better gift.”

“I would love to ‘do an activity’ with you, Shulk. And, I have just the thing in mind. Follow me.” 

The princess leads him out of the city of Alcamoth, out onto the floating reefs over Eryth Sea. As they walk the less maintained paths she strays out among the fields and asks, “Have you ever taken a good look at the plants out here?” 

“The ones in Makna Forest are pretty neat,” he replies. “Plants here don’t get as big but they’re still pretty interesting.”

Melia hums, appreciates the view up so high. “What of the flowers?”

“They’re fine, I guess?” I mean, they look neat, but… it’s weird that they’re technically reproductive organs, right?”

Melia pauses and considers that, before glancing back to where he lingers on the path.. “Well, yes, if you think that hard on it.” In the bright sunlight, she can see a faint but growing pink tint to his cheeks. “Shulk, is that the reason you don’t like flowers?” He blushes harder and she laughs. Bionis, he’s so cute when he gets flustered. “Shulk, you don’t need to think that hard on it.”

“I can’t help it.” He drags a hand through his blond hair. “I know it’s silly, but I just… I’m always thinking about how things work, why they are the way they are, and- well, flowers!”

Melia laughs at how flustered he’s become, before walking over and taking his hands. His cheeks are so very red. “Do not think of that. You appreciate things with your mind. So, try to appreciate them with just your eyes this time.”

“With just my eyes…”

Melia nods. “Don’t think about what they’re for, or what they do. Just appreciate the colors and the shapes. I feel you would enjoy flowers more in this way.” She can see it in his facial expressions, that he’s going through some kind of logical relay race in his mind over how best to appreciate flowers. She wonders if he’s always been like this, putting so much thought into every little thing.

She lets him finish his thoughts and he hums, “I guess I could try that.”

“Alright then.” Melia leads him off the path, where the grasses grow taller and bled into patches of wildflower meadow. “Are there any flowers of Eryth Sea that you  _ don’t _ dislike?”

Shulk hums, then reaches out for a deep purple flower- a Doomsday Poppy, she recognizes. “I guess these are alright,” he admits. “I do like the color.”

“So there  _ are _ flowers you like,” she teases gently. “The shape of the petals is quite nice too.”

He hums in agreement, though his cheeks are still a bit red. Is he still overthinking it?

“Say, do you like Mystic Dahlias at all?”

“Are those the yellow ones that are always in the palace?”

“Yes,” she smiles. “They’ve been the flower of the royal family for generations.”

“Oh. uhm. I don’t really like yellow.”

“You like… blue, right?”

Shulk nods with a little smile. “Yellow seems… harsh, I guess. Blue’s gentler.”

Melia hums, and looks out over the sea and the reefs. “Like waves on Eryth Sea. So, it’s not just because the Monado’s blade is blue?”

After a moment’s pause Shulk admits, “Okay, a little,” and Melia giggles.

“I’m only teasing, that’s a perfectly good reason to like a color." Melia leans forwards, sifting through the wildflowers before plucking one of the poppies and twirling it in her fingers. “Have you ever pressed flowers, Shulk?”

“A few times, actually. My friend Fiora was into it for a while when we were kids. I liked helping her.” Shulk pulls a little notebook out of one of his jacket pockets and flips around a bit, before showing a page to Melia. Carefully tucked into clear sleeves are several pressed flowers, of species she’s never seen before.

“Are those from your home?” she asks, taking a closer look at the faded, unfamiliar petals.

“Yeah, all from around Colony 9 and Gaur Plains.”

She knows this will likely fly right over his head, but she decides to take the opportunity anyways. “Shulk, if there’s ever an opportunity, I would love to see Colony 9 myself.”

“You would?”

“Of course. Not only for the flowers, but it would be nice to get out and go somewhere I’ve never been, and to spend more time with you. Perhaps you could show me around?”

Shulk positively lights up. “Yeah! I’ll bet Sharla and Riki have never been, either. A trip back home with everyone would be fun!” As he talks about showing them all the lab where he works and the park he and Reyn and Fiora would hang out in all the time and cliff-diving into the lake, Melia smiles. As she predicted, right over his head. Not that she minds; it’s so cute watching him go on when he’s excited. So she lets him talk, and asks questions about his home, and they pick flowers to press back in Alcamoth.

Such a simple day, so easily lost among newer memories. Yet Melia remembers it when finally, months later, Shulk presents her with a new gift. He does so in person, with a confidence he lacked last time. She’s known for a long time that he designs and crafts custom weapons, but she’s never truly appreciated that until she finds herself holding a new staff. It’s sleek, lightweight, perfectly balanced. Shining metal and lacquered wood wrought and carved together seamlessly. And, sealed under resin, pressed wildflowers from Eryth Sea bloom up the handle in twirling vines.

And still he asks bashfully, “Do you like it?”

Melia’s eyes shine and she throws her arms around him. “Shulk, I  _ love it _ .”


End file.
